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Spoiler Alert: This list includes spoilers for multiple movies released in 2024.The art of a great plot twist is one of revelation and surprise, a pivotal beat in a story that leaves audiences shocked yet, upon reflection, was lurking in plain sight the entire time. The trope is most common in suspenseful thrillers, cerebral sci-fis, and psychological dramas, but every genre is capable of pulling off a great plot twist with rewarding results, a fact made evident by the films of 2024.
From the greatest highlights of supernatural horror to engrossing romantic thrillers, and even to the odd comedy drama, the best twist movies of the year have left moviegoers stunned and scrambling for explanations. Several of these films became viral social media sensations for their plot twists, while others remain somewhat underrated exponents of the narrative trick. It should go without saying that all ten of these entries come with a spoiler warning.
10 'A Quiet Place: Day One'
The government brought the alien invasion upon humanity.
Image via Paramount Pictures
Released to instant acclaim in 2018, A Quiet Place enchanted viewers with its horrific apocalyptic world infested by savage aliens that hunt on sound. While A Quiet Place Part II touched on the initial invasion of the monstrous extra-terrestrials, 2024’s A Quiet Place: Day One is the best exploration of how it all began, with the prequel following the terminally ill Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) as she tries to survive the first stages of the catastrophic invasion in New York City.
It is one of the best horror releases of the year, maintaining the pulse-raising suspense of the creatures while doubling down on a story of raw humanity and desperate characters. The prequel also reveals why the aliens came to Earth in the first place, covering that government experiments with aural technology attracted the hostile species to the planet. It may not have re-augmented audience understanding of the film series, but it does underscore the horror on display with a bleak and sour note that the end of humanity is somewhat self-imposed.
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Release Date June 28, 2024
Director Michael Sarnoski
Runtime 99 Minutes
Writers Michael Sarnoski
Franchise A Quiet Place
Studio(s) Paramount Pictures , Platinum Dunes , Sunday Night Productions
Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures
Sequel(s) A Quiet Place , A Quiet Place: Part II , A Quiet Place: Part III
Franchise(s) A Quiet Place
9 'Trap'
Cooper's wife was the person who gave the FBI the clue.
Image via Warner Bros Pictures
From the moment M. Night Shyamalan’s name appeared in the trailer, people were already guessing what the big twist of Trap would be. Interesting, the marketing for the movie revealed what many would expect to be reserved for the great surprise. The movie focuses on Cooper (Josh Hartnett), an active serial killer who attends a pop concert with his teenage daughter. Suspicious of the high police presence, Cooper learns that the authorities know the killer will be in attendance and resorts to extreme measures in an effort to escape the event.
The thriller isn’t without its flaws, but Shyamalan’s use of dark humor and his atmospheric intensity, as well as Hartnett’s compelling lead performance, do make for an engaging and appropriately twisty tale. The best narrative pivot comes after Cooper has escaped and is left wondering how the FBI knew he would be at the concert when it is revealed that his wife, Alice (Alison Pill), was the one who tipped off the authorities. The dramatic beat that amplifies Cooper’s alienation from his own wife is suitably surprising and undercuts the film’s heightened sense of comedic angst. Unfortunately, one last twist hinting at Cooper’s escape is loaded into the final moments, allowing for a shock ending that ultimately falls flat.
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Trap is a film by writer-director M. Night Shyamalan under his Blinding Edge Pictures label. The film is part of a deal struck with Warner Bros for him to direct and produce several films under their banner.
Release Date August 2, 2024
Studio(s) Blinding Edge Pictures , New Line Cinema
Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures , New Line Cinema
8 'MaXXXine'
Maxine discovers the true identity of the serial killer.
Image via A24
The culmination of Ti West’s gripping horror trilogy that previously featured X and Pearl, MaXXXine propels its focus to mid 1980s Hollywood where Maxine (Mia Goth), having emerged as the sole survivor of a killing spree on the farm six years prior, is pursuing a career as an actress. As the aspiring starlet lands her big break, though, a serial killer’s reign of terror threatens to uncover the secrets buried in her sinister past.
The final act of the film sees Maxine travel to an address in the Hollywood Hills where she learns that the murders surrounding her have been committed by her estranged father, Ernest Miller (Simon Prast). The delusional televangelist, along with several fundamentalist members of his ministry, has been recording the killings in a deranged bid to expose Hollywood’s corruption and save his daughter. Maxine coldly disposing of him is one of the most cathartic scenes of the year, especially as it feeds into her own obsessive fantasy of stardom and fame.
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In 1980s Hollywood, adult film star and aspiring actress Maxine Minx finally secures her big break. As she navigates her path to stardom, a mysterious killer begins targeting Hollywood starlets, leaving a trail of blood that threatens to expose her sinister past.
Release Date July 5, 2024
Director Ti West
Runtime 103 Minutes
Writers Ti West
Franchise X
Prequel X
Production Company A24
7 'Blink Twice'
Frida's history on the island is revealed.
Image via Amazon MGM Studios
A bold and blistering directorial debut from Zoë Kravitz, Blink Twice flexes a timely and unambiguous social commentary that defiantly shouts its themes of misogyny, sexual assault, and the perceived impunity of the elite. The engrossing thriller follows Frida (Naomi Ackie), a cocktail waitress who forms an immediate connection with tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) and leaps at the opportunity to party with him on his private island. However, when Frida and the other female guests begin experiencing weird occurrences and memory lapses, she decides to investigate what exactly is happening.
Unsurprisingly, the first big twist reveals that the mega-rich men on the island are drugging the girls with a substance that causes memory loss and sexually abusing them while they’re under the influence. The true big twist reveals that Frida had been on the island a year prior—which she has no recollection of—and endured the same abuse before. While more could have been done with the film’s finale, seeing her switch the power dynamic on King and take over his company certainly had its cathartic qualities.
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When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. As strange things start to happen, Frida questions her reality.
Release Date August 23, 2024
Runtime 102 Minutes
Main Genre Mystery
Studio(s) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Free Association , FilmNation Entertainment , this is important
Distributor(s) Amazon MGM Studios , Warner Bros. Pictures
6 'My Old Ass'
Elliott finally learns why she should avoid Chad.
Image via Amazon MGM Studios
Blending comedy, teenage drama, and romance with tremendous insight even in its ruminations on the reckless abandon of a vibrant youth, My Old Ass manages to be a heartfelt and hysterical meditation on young love. Elliott (Maisy Stella) spends her 18th birthday celebrating with friends and experimenting with hallucinogens, leading to her confronting her 39-year-old self (Aubrey Plaza), who cautions her to avoid a boy named Chad (Percy Hynes White).
When Elliott does encounter a boy named Chad, she finds herself instantly attracted to him, but remains cautious and confides in “My Old Ass”, who remains coy about why Chad must be evaded. The film unfolds as Elliott is torn between pursuing a romance and heeding the advice, with audiences always on edge as to what Chad might do to warrant being avoided. The twist reveals that Chad is actually a wonderful person, and the older Elliott was completely in love with him, but he dies in the future. Elliott begins a relationship with him anyway, imbuing the film with a powerful and touching message about the value of love.
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Elliott Labrant, who has been advised by her future self not to fall in love, is sure she can do so after being given the advice. That is, until she meets the boy her older self warned her about.
Release Date September 13, 2024
Director Megan Park
Runtime 89 minutes
Writers Megan Park
Studio(s) Indian Paintbrush , LuckyChap Entertainment , Scythia Films
5 'Cuckoo'
The hooded figure's true nature is made clear.
Image via NEON
An unnerving psychological horror, Cuckoo follows 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) as she reluctantly moves to a resort in the Bavarian Alps to live with her father and her mute half-sister. She grows disturbed when her father’s boss, Herr König (Dan Stevens), embroils her family in a mysterious plot. At the same time, she recovers from a traumatic encounter with a hooded woman on a bicycle.
While the plotting is a touch erratic, Cuckoo works an intriguing treat with Tilman Singer’s colorful direction and the striking presence of Schafer and Stevens. It also boasts one of the more wild and unpredictable twists of the year. It is revealed that the hooded woman is actually a member of a near-human species that, like cuckoos, relies on brood parasitism to raise their young. Gretchen learns her half-sister is also a member of the species, with the hooded figure being her mother. The twist kick-starts a chaotic final act that sees the kooky yet vivacious atmosphere erupt in extraordinary fashion.
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After moving to the German Alps with her father and his new family, Gretchen begins to experience disturbing events. As she uncovers the town's dark secrets, her father's enigmatic boss, Mr. König, reveals a sinister interest in her mute half-sister, Alma. Tilman Singer directs this psychological horror featuring Hunter Schafer and Dan Stevens
Release Date August 9, 2024
Director Tilman Singer
Runtime 102 Minutes
Writers Tilman Singer
4 'Marmalade'
The deceptive truth behind the real Marmalade is revealed.
Image via Signature Entertainment
Marmalade is an intriguing blend of heist thrills, jailbreak fun, and romantic sentiment that overcomes its pitfalls with a striking sincerity and Joe Keery’s starring performance. He plays Baron, a simple-minded prisoner who shares his life story with his cellmate, Otis (Aldis Hodge), unveiling his desperate situation with his mother and his love for the reckless Marmalade (Camila Morrone). It is revealed that Otis is actually an undercover FBI agent hoping to apprehend Baron’s elusive criminal girlfriend.
As an elaborate ploy is hatched to break Baron out of prison so he can lead the FBI to Marmalade, it is soon revealed that the wanted thief never even existed. She is merely a figment of Baron’s true mastermind scheme, one that proves effective as he escapes confinement successfully. Keery owns the surprising twist, with the film beautifully undercutting the slick deceptive antics with a tender touch of him being reunited with his mother in the final scene. It makes Marmalade one of the more underrated and enjoyable crime flicks of 2024.
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Follows a man in jail who narrates the colorful tale of a romantic bank heist to his cunning cellmate to escape and reunite with the alluring love of his life.
Release Date February 12, 2024
Director Keir O'Donnell
Runtime 99 Minutes
Main Genre Crime
Writers Keir O'Donnell
3 'The First Omen'
Margaret has a disturbing link to the Devil and the Antichrist.
Image via 20th Century Studios
While horror purists may have flocked to see The First Omen when it released in April, it is a shame that more people weren’t exposed to the brilliant prequel film that ties into the 1976 classic The Omen with terrifying tenacity. Margaret (Nell Tiger Free) is a novice nun from America who relocates to Rome in 1971 to work at the Vizzardeli Orphanage, where she encounters an unnerving little girl prone to demonic visions and uncovers a conspiracy to birth a new Antichrist.
The twist reveals the sinister motive behind the church sending Margaret to Rome. She is the daughter of a demonic jackal, and with conspirators believing that the Antichrist can only emerge when the Devil mates with his own offspring, she is at the center of a terrible ploy that sees her inseminated to give birth to the offspring of Satan. In the chilling final moments of the film, set years later as she raises her daughter, Margaret learns that her son has been named Damien.
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The First Omen
A young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, but encounters a darkness that causes her to question her faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Release Date April 5, 2024
Director Arkasha Stevenson
Writers Ben Jacoby , Tim Smith , Arkasha Stevenson , Keith Thomas
2 'Longlegs'
FBI Agent Lee Harker discovers a familial tie to the supernatural killer.
Image via NEON
A razor-sharp marriage of police procedural tension and supernatural horror, Longlegs sent genre fans into a frenzy when it was released in July with its gripping suspense and its shocking twists. Set in the 1990s, it follows FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) in her investigation of an active serial killer who calls himself “Longlegs” with ties to Satanism and the occult who has targeted families across Oregon.
Through her investigation, Harker is led to a secluded chapter from her own childhood where she must confront her own mother, Ruth (Alicia Witt), about her possible involvement in the crime spree. She uncovers the truth that Ruth, having made a deal to spare Lee’s life when she was a child, has been sheltering Longlegs (Nicolas Cage) in her basement while aiding his demonic murders by disguising herself as a nun and taking possessed dolls to family houses, causing fathers to murder their families before committing suicide. The revelation leads to a desperate final effort to prevent Longlegs from striking again, one that forces Harker to confront her own mother in the process.
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A chilling horror thriller directed by Osgood Perkins. The film stars Maika Monroe as Lee Harker, a promising new FBI agent assigned to solve the mystery of an elusive serial killer played by Nicolas Cage. As Harker delves deeper into the case, she uncovers disturbing evidence of occult practices connected to the murders.
Release Date July 12, 2024
Runtime 101 Minutes
Studio(s) C2 Motion Picture Group , Saturn Films
Distributor(s) Neon
1 'Strange Darling'
The Lady and the Demon are not what they first appear.
Image via Magenta Light Studios
Another scintillating and twisty serial killer thriller that takes place in Oregon, Strange Darling appears destined to overcome its box office failure to become a revered cult classic in the coming years. Running with a non-linear narrative that transpires in six chapters, it focuses on a grueling game of cat-and-mouse between the Lady (Willa Fitzgerald), a terrified woman on the run, and the Demon (Kyle Gallner), her relentless pursuer armed with a rifle and a coke user’s sniff.
Bolstered by sublime visuals courtesy of actor-turned-cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi, Strang Darling feels as though it is leading viewers down a familiar path of intensity and chase scenes, but then it flips the story on its head completely. Revealed when the film depicts the duo’s first encounter—a rather risqué and sadomasochistic one-night stand—it is the Lady who is the at-large serial killer while the Demon is a cop trying to arrest her. Armed with such an enthralling twist and a captivating performance from Fitzgerald, Strange Darling excels as one of 2024’s best thrillers, and its profound twist is a huge reason for its magnificence.
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A twisted one-night stand spirals into a deadly game of cat and mouse when a relentless predator chases an injured woman through the Oregon wilderness.
Release Date August 23, 2024
Director JT Mollner
Runtime 96 Minutes
Character(s) The Lady , The Demon , True Crime Narrator (voice) , Art Pallone , Frederick , Geneviève , Pete , Gale , Libby , Beth , Tanya , The Driver , Roughneck , Steve , Mitchell Mahoney , Man with Bare Buttocks
Writers JT Mollner
English (US) ·